The Brave Maiden and her Seven Princes
by ChaiTora
Summary: Yukimura Chizuru, the daughter of an esteemed doctor who has gone missing, is on a quest to find her father. Amidst her traveling, she stumbles upon an even deeper plot that involves several kidnapped persons. A perverse fairy-tale in which the damsels in distress are...gentlemen!
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This story idea came to me...rather randomly. Like a bolt of lightning out of the sky XD Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy! I plan on including pretty much every character in the series (me attempting to be ambitious...) Also, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the eventual pairings, so feel free to tell me whom you'd like to see with whom.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hakuouki (if I did though...*rubs hands together evilly*), however the OCs are mine.

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Chizuru wandered along the nearly-empty streets of Kyoto, the day coming to an end. In the distant horizon, the vermillion sun was sinking amidst a shifting gradient of colors and streaks of clouds with striking pinkish underbellies. The young girl's brown eyes aimlessly roamed about the area. She ought to stop at an inn before it got any darker: while she was dressed as a boy and had her wakizashi at her side, the streets of Kyoto were still a dangerous place at night. Just as she was about to go look for a suitable inn, she was suddenly stopped by a trio of ronin. Her features paled when they lumbered up to her, wearing smug expressions. This could only spell trouble.

Chizuru was panting heavily as she swiftly made a sharp turn into an alley. Hiding behind some stray planks of wood that had been leaning against the wall, Chizuru could only pray that she would not be found. The sun, now having been swallowed by the dark horizon, left the streets in a forbidding dark blanket. The moon was but a sliver of light in the sky, and lanterns could only provide a pitiful glow. Chizuru listened to the shouts of the angered ronin got closer, closer...but then they stopped. Why did they stop? Chizuru wanted to poke her head out of her hiding spot, but her instincts restrained her. Something told her that there was a thing out there that was much worse than the ronin. What it was, however, was a mystery. A monster, a demon...who knew? As the eerie silence dragged on, Chizuru was ready to finally sneak a peak when suddenly an ear-splitting scream shattered through the silence.

A desperate plea for life stopped short by a hideous, inhuman cackle. The ronin's—Chizuru guessed by the voice—voice caught in a gurgle and the sound of something softly spurting forth. The horrified young woman watched the shadows against the walls, the scene playing out like some ghoulish performance, as the attacker kept driving the sword into the already dead ronin. The metal ripped through the flesh, and more cackles filled the trembling night air. She could feel the beastly lust for blood and violence hang in the night air. She had to get out of here! With her senses raging and adrenaline pumped through her veins, Chizuru attempted to make a bolt for it. However, the surge of energy was only temporary, and the horror of the event made her legs buckle. She lurched to one side, causing the planks to fall down with a distinct clatter.

The insane laughter ceased immediately.

It was coming for her. Chizuru shuffled back, pressing herself against the wall as though she would be able to sink into it. A foreboding shadow ambled towards her with nothing less than an aura oozing menace. One heavy step...then another...and another...and yet another, until the ghastly beast came into view. White hair was outlined by the pale moon, giving the being an even more supernatural air to it. Sanguine eyes that glinted with an animalistic hunger stared straight at her. The man—no, the monster—raised his katana as though being pulled by puppet strings. There was no sign of any emotion, just pure madness. Chizuru was only able to watch her attacker ready her killing blow when suddenly—

Shouts, and the sound of a blade through flesh. Were there more of them?! The monster turned his attention away from Chizuru for a scant second. However, it appeared to recognize who the newcomer was, and so the monster jumped onto a nearby roof with speed and effortlessness that was anything but human. Frantic footsteps followed in the monster's wake, however, the newcomer stopped short when seeing the silhouette of a person against the wall.

It was a woman. She watched Chizuru with mystifying ocean blue eyes before slowly approaching her, her grip on her sword tightening. Chizuru scuttled back as far as she could. Was this woman going to hurt her? "Hey, it's okay," the woman, as though she was reading Chizuru's mind, cooed. Hesitantly, Chizuru crawled towards the woman, who graciously helped her up.

"Ah, um, th-thank you..." Chizuru bowed politely at her savior. But...where to go from here? Chizuru tried to keep her eyes on the woman, knowing that there was a mangled body not far from where they were standing.

"So, what's a young girl like you doing out here at night?" Like she was one to talk...w-wait, she knew she was a girl?!

"Ah, how did you know?"

"What? That you were a girl?" The woman snorted, "Like any boy would have such a cute face...so who are you?"

"Ch-Chizuru..." she mumbled.

"Chizuru..." the woman goaded her on with a hand.

"Yukimura Chizuru."

"Yukimura," the woman paused for several moments, thoughtful. "As in Yukimura, the doctor who specializes in Western medicine. What, you his daughter or something?"

Chizuru's head snapped up immediately. This woman knew her father?! Did that mean that she knew where her father was? "How do you know about my father?"

"What, you can't tell from my clothes that I'm a Westerner?" True, her clothes did strike Chizuru as odd. But then again, she's never really seen Western clothing. The foreigner wore a blue dress. It looked reminiscent of a kimono, only it stopped mid-thigh and looked rather tight. How was she fine in that? A leather belt was strapped around her waist, carrying the sheath of her Western-style sword. Finally, Chizuru looked down to see that the woman was wearing tall boots, with laces riding up the front. They looked like they pinched her feet. Was this outfit really comfortable to move in?! "Right, so I should probably introduce myself," the woman promptly sheathed her sword. With a bit of a flourish, she bowed, "Call me Imber. I am familiar with your father—I've met him once or twice—and I have been sent by my master to go look for him. You see, I have been living her in Japan for a few years or so no, moving from place to place. My master was concerned when she had heard that Yukimura-sensei had gone missing. Thus, you find me here."

"Oh, I see then. I've been looking for my father for some time now, Imber-san."

"And you've gotten nowhere," she said in an almost snippety tone. It stung a little, but she _was_ right... "Good thing I found you, Yukimura-chan. Now then, how about we find your father together?" She would really do that? Chizuru stared at Imber with almost disbelief in her eyes. Another quick snort, "What? You think I'd leave you here alone? We're looking for the same person, so we might as well work together for this!" That did make sense... "So, what say you?" A brief smile, and Imber proffered her hand.

Chizuru eagerly accepted it.

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**A/N:** And the prologue is complete: huzzah ~( =3=)~ okay I apologize it's not as good at the end but it's like almost 2am and I literally spent the entire day helping develop a website (fun stuff though) so my brain is kinda mush now. Anywho, this came out rather serious. Bah, well I'm not the type to stay serious for long...I guess anyway.

SO lemme know what you think or give some suggestions (cuz I got a few ideas but other than that...I'm basically just winging this story XD).

*Reviews make TinyTora happy, yes they do! She gets a warm and fuzzy feeling, which in turn makes her wanna write more X3


	2. Rasetsu no Kyoten

**A/N:** ...

...sooo it's been a while.

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"Ah, Imber-san," Chizuru began as the two maneuvered their way through the dark streets. "How did you and my father meet? Well, what I mean to ask is how do you two know each other?"

Imber disregarded Chizuru's question as they had arrived at their destination-the inn where Imber was staying-until the two were seated in Imber's cramped room. The Westerner then finally acknowledged the query posed. "I don't personally know your father. He's met my master once or twice when she came to Japan. I happened to be with her at the time as a bodyguard, so I got to see him. You see, my master wants to try to establish good relations with Japan; you have as much to teach us as Western countries do. Of course, without getting too tied up with the politics surrounding this situation, let's just say neither my master nor father aren't liked by certain people. Anyway," she cleared her throat, "since I've been living here, my master asked me to find some people, your father included." People? So she wasn't just looking for her father? Chizuru wondered if the others Imber-san was looking were connected to her father in any way. She had met some of her father's acquaintances before: did that mean that they were missing too? What could have possibly happened to them?

"How many are missing?"

"Seven princes and your father. There might be more, but my sources come slowly, so this is the most current information that I have." P-Princes?! She didn't mean _actual_ princes, did she?

"Um, these sources...what are they exactly?"

"Tips I get from my master and other people who work for her. What's that look for?" Imber's tone adopted a sudden growl. "You doubt me or something?"

"N-Not exactly," Chizuru fidgeted uncomfortably, "I was just wondering also...what do you mean by _princes_? When you say that, do you literally mean princes?"

The Westerner leaned back and sighed, "Right, I didn't exactly explain that to you. Hm, how shall I put it? They aren't the kind of princes that you know-not of royal blood. It's more or less a term coined by my master," Imber chuckled briefly.

"A term?" Chizuru cocked her head to one side. Why call someone who isn't of royal blood a prince? How were these seven men special?

"Heh, don't worry I'm not done with my explanation yet." The Westerner paused for a few seconds to gather her thoughts, leaning her elbows on the low table that sat between the two young women as she stared off to the side. "I'm but a humble bodyguard for my master, so I myself do not know the full details but these seven men hold a special role. In what, I cannot say, but my master has told me to gather them. It is in my search for them that I also stumbled across the fact that Yukimura-sensei had gone missing. Perhaps the incidents are connected-I would hardly call a series of disappearances mere coincidence." Imber most certainly had a point. Chizuru nodded along to the explanation. She didn't fully understand what was going on, but maybe things would string themselves together as time went on.

But at the same time, apprehension gnawed at the young woman's core. Could she be getting herself into a mess that wasn't necessarily her problem? No, no if it involved her father then it was definitely her problem. For her father's sake if not for her own, she would go through with her decision to help Imber-san.

"You still look troubled. Guess it's to be expected though, considering how much we don't know of the situation. And you also have every right to be suspicious of me: we've only just met, and I may be hiding something from you," the Westerner grinned in an almost secretive manner to prove her point. "But," she continued with a warm voice, "it's not like I have anything to hide from you really. Hah, well I don't have anything _important_ to hide from you."

"All right, then, Imber-san," Chizuru mustered up a smile. She didn't have anyone else to turn to so, "I'll put some of my trust into you."

"G-Geez, you seem so eager," Imber turned away with a blush. "I'll be sure to take care of you, okay?" Putting her hands to her hips, Imber straightened her posture proudly. "You won't need to worry 'cuz I'll protect. No fiend shall lay a hand on you!" She stood up, declaring herself. Chizuru backed up a little.

"Are you sure _I'm _the eager one here?" Imber blushed once more and immediately seated herself.

"S-Sorry. I just get kinda excited when I can guard someone. Occupational reflex," she muttered embarrassedly. "A-Anyway," flustered, she cleared her throat, "you should get to bed now. Early this morning I had received a tip from one of my sources. We may know where one of these men are, so I was going to make my way over to the location. It's not too far from the city's outskirts, which is why I had decided to stay here and look around; of course, that's when I bumped into you."

"Where are we going?"

"An abandoned fort that lies hidden in the mountainous area. I'm sure there are some shady characters lying in wait. Ah, if you don't want to come, then it's fine."

"No, it's all right. I can defend myself," Chizuru touched the wakizashi that was lying at her side. Yes, she had received some instruction and could defend herself. She knew the basics. However...would her opponents be normal? And could she bring herself to actually kill? There was no room for hesitation on a battlefield. She could end up being more of a hindrance than a help, but at the same time, would Imber be all right on her own?

The other woman must have seen the dubious expression that crossed Chizuru's face though, for she piped up immediately. "Leave the bulk of the fighting to me though, hime-san," Imber prodded playfully. "You won't have to lift a finger for me! And I'm sure you'd be more comfortable fixing wounds, seeing as how you're the daughter of a doctor."

"Thanks," she smiled softly: Imber's confidence was rather reassuring. "So we'll head out tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, to investigate the fort, and hopefully find ourselves a prince!"

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**A/N:** so the next chapter is already in the works, but quite frankly life got in the way so I can't fully remember where I had originally planned to take this (Lol)...so leave behind a review please if you have suggestions *puppy eyes* They really help me keep going (because omg now I know people actually read what I write!) and if you'd like to see a pairing or something, I'm cool with that :D Hopefully this next chapter will be more timely. It IS the July session for National Novel Writing Month, so I am highly motivated to write xD so feel free to PM if you have any other story suggestions!


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